Does Sen. Vitter Think Attacking Planned Parenthood can Eclipse 2007 Prostitute Scandal?

Original Link: http://www.wowowow.com/politics/planned-parenthood-vitter-demint-amendments-229176

Sen. David Vitter appears to be on a reinvention tour.

Vitter stole the national spotlight in 2007, when he was caught cavorting with prostitutes, a scandal that tarnished the Republican’s squeaky clean image. And, since he’s planning a 2010 re-election campaign, Vitter’s trying to get back to his roots, which may explain why the Louisiana-based lawmaker introduced an amendment yesterday that would strip the Senate spending bill of any and all funding for Planned Parenthood.

Reads the amendment: "None of the funds appropriated under this Act shall be made available to Planned Parenthood for any purpose under title X of the Public Health Service Act." Title X was enacted in 1970 and is the only federal grant program aimed solely at providing comprehensive family planning and preventive health services like breast and cervical cancer screening, STD testing, HIV prevention counseling, pregnancy counseling, and handing out contraceptives. Funds are not allowed to be used in programs that offer abortions. Vitter, however, thinks more should be done to restrict Planned Parenthood’s activities. Priority is given to low-income populations.

"This ambiguity [of Title X] has allowed organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, to receive large sums of federal funding for ‘reproductive health activity’ programs and often channel these federal dollars to clinics that perform abortions to pay for overhead expenses like electricity bills and office support staff -– freeing up other funds for abortions," Vitter said. "The federal government should not use taxpayer dollars to pay for acts that so many Americans find morally wrong."

Women’s groups are understandably up in arms over Vitter’s move. President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards said:

This is the worst possible time for these outrageous attacks. More and more people are losing their jobs and their health insurance — and that means that safety-net providers like Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers are more important than ever. It’s unconscionable to try to strip our funding at time when so many people are relying on us — but that’s exactly what Sen. Vitter and his allies are trying to do.

These groups are also angry by an appropriations bill amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-SC, that squashes a Medicaid drug rebate program provision to halt what he calls a funding earmark for Planned Parenthood. They say it would cut into affordable birth control programs. DeMint has repeatedly opposed sending taxpayer dollars to groups that perform abortions. Planned Parenthood, however, thinks DeMint is missing the mark: "Here are the facts: This provision does not provide funding — for Planned Parenthood or anyone else. In fact, this small change to the law doesn’t cost the government or taxpayers a single dime."

As for Vitter, we wonder whether this move will help in the forthcoming campaign, which pits him against former porn star Stormy Daniels and Tony Perkins, who heads the right-wing Family Research Council. It’s going to be quite the match up!